The duo of India captain Rohit Sharma and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan is amongst the most successful ones in ODI cricket. In fact, they are fourth on the list of most runs for opening partnership in ODIs and second amongst Indians after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
Though Dhawan is not part of the Test and T20I team now, he is all but certain to play in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.
Rohit Sharma gave an epic reaction
Former India off-spinner Pragyan Ojha recently stated that the partnership between Dhawan and Rohit has over the years grown off the field as it has blossomed on the pitch. Ojha opined that Dhawan has been a consistent score in ODIs and should definitely open in the 2023 World Cup.
This was pointed out to Rohit Sharma by journalist Vimal Kumar ahead of India’s T20I series against West Indies.
“You old friend Pragyan Ojha has commented that the way Tendulkar and Ganguly’ professional relationship turned into a friendship by opening the innings together, Shikhar and you have part of a friendship too. Tell us something about it?,” reporter Vimal Kumar asked the Indian skipper.
When queried about this, Rohit’s first reaction was of surprise and amusement that Ojha, Rohit’s former India and Mumbai Indians teammate, has swiftly moved into the commentary box after his cricketing career.
“Pragyan? Pragyan aaj kal commentary karne laga hai kya? Sahi hai, chalo achhi baat hai (Pragyan? Has he started doing commentary? Well, alright, it’s good),” said Rohit and got the journalist laughing.
You can watch the video here:
— Guess Karo (@KuchNahiUkhada) July 29, 2022
Sharma then went on to speak about the necessity of keeping a fun, healthy environment in the dressing room.
“See, whenever we play, whoever is the partner, we all try – not just I and Shikhar – that the understanding remains good, and that transforms into a good friendship off the field.
“On the field, obviously, all the players come together to play but off the field also, it is important that all the players stay together, have fun, pull each other’s legs and that is what lifts the environment of the team. So that is also one of our areas of focus as to how we keep the atmosphere light and enjoy because you won’t get this opportunity enough,” Sharma added.
Dhawan led India to a 3-0 whitewash over Nicholas Pooran’s team. After being rusty in the England ODIs, the southpaw was back to his best vs West Indies, stroking a match-winning 97 in the first ODI and 58 in the third game. His next assignment will be the 3 ODIs next month in Zimbabwe.
